
6.
What shows that saving righ-
teousness was available to men in Old
Testament times? Heb. 11:4; Gen. 7:1;
Rom. 4:3.
Nom—Others in both Old and New
Testaments could be listed, such as Lot
(2 Peter 2:7) ; Zacharias and Elisabeth
(Luke 1:5, 6). The Gentiles who accepted
Paul's preaching attained to righteousness
through faith. Rom. 9:30; 6:17-22.
"It is through faith in the blood of
Christ that all the sins of the believer are
canceled and the righteousness of God is
put in their place to the believer's account.
0, what a marvelous transaction! What a
manifestation of divine love and grace!
Here is a man born in sin. As Paul says,
he is 'filled with all unrighteousness.' His
inheritance of evil is the worst imaginable.
His environment is at the lowest depths
known to the wicked. In some way the
love of God shining from the cross of
Calvary reaches that man's heart. He
yields, repents, confesses, and by faith
claims Christ as his Saviour. The instant
that is done, he is accepted as a child of
God. His sins are all forgiven, his guilt
is canceled, he is accounted righteous, and
stands approved, justified, before the di-
vine law. And this amazing, miraculous
change may take place in one short hour.
This is righteousness by faith."—A.
G.
Daniells,
Christ Our Righteousness,
1926
edition, pages 22, 23.
7.
What does God require the sin-
ner to do, and what becomes of his
sins? 1 John 1:9. Compare Isa. 55:7.
NOTE.—Confession, forgiveness, cleans-
ing bring the erstwhile guilty sinner a new
status before God. He is now justified, and
enters upon a daily experience of sur-
render and sanctification.
"We must learn in the school of Christ.
Nothing but His righteousness can entitle
us to one of the blessings of the covenant
of grace. . . . We must not think that our
own grace and merits will save us; the
grace of Christ is our only hope of sal-
vation."—Selected Messages,
Bk. 1, p. 351.
8.
What do the experiences of
Abraham and David teach us regard-
ing God's grace and righteousness in
the lives of the faithful? Rom. 4:3-8.
NOTE.-"By faith he [the sinned can
bring to God the merits of Christ, and
the Lord places the obedience of His Son
to the sinner's account. Christ's righteous-
ness is accepted in place of man's failure,
and God receives, pardons, justifies, the
repentant, believing soul, treats him as
though he were righteous, and loves him
as He loves His Son. This is how faith is
accounted righteousness; and the pardoned
soul goes on from grace to grace, from
light to a greater
light."—Selected Mes-
sages,
Bk. 1, p. 367.
"It is quite clear that there is no word
so near the center of Paul's belief as the
word faith. We have only to read his
letters to see that for Paul the word faith
sums up the very essence of Christian-
ity....
"It is of primary importance to note
that for Paul faith is always faith in a
person. Faith is not the intellectual ac-
ceptance of a body of doctrine ; faith is
faith in a person."—William Barclay,
The
Mind of St. Paul
(London: Collins, 1958),
page 133.
Man's Assurance of Victorious Life
9.
How does Paul show that God's
grace provided righteousness for be-
lieving men, not as a matter of law,
but as a living experience with Christ?
Gal.
2:20, 21.
NoTE.—The doctrine of the indwelling
Christ becomes a living experience to the
believer, and it is perceptible to others
who see the results in a sanctified life.
Thus the works of Christ are seen in the
life of the man of faith. James 2:20-24.
"While we cannot do anything to change
our hearts or to bring ourselves into har-
mony with God; while we must not trust
at all to ourselves or our good works, our
lives will reveal whether the grace of God
is dwelling within us. A change will be
seen in the character, the habits, the pur-
suits."—Steps
to Christ,
page 57.
10.
To whom did Jesus extend the
privilege of becoming sons of God?
John 1:12.
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